Iran to choose between Pezeshkian and Jalili

A day of silence has begun in Iran on the eve of the presidential election runoff due on July 5. On the day preceding the voting day all candidates and their proxies are prohibited from any campaigning.

Conservative Saeed Jalili and reformist politician Masoud Pezeshkian will compete in Friday’s run-off presidential election in Iran, after no candidate won more than 50% of the vote in the first round, held on June 28.

Pezeshkian came out on top, with 44.4% of the vote. Jalili got 40%, with the next highest candidate, the conservative former mayor of Tehran Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, getting 14.4%. As no candidate secured more than 50% of the vote, the top two candidates moved forward to a run-off.

Iran’s June 28 presidential election saw the lowest turnout in history - 40%.